Suns out must be time for another newbie

fatbloke8

I have been a lurker for a while, but I've braved it and posted.

I think I have come full circle, had a Chopper then a rayleigh burner as a kid (giving away my age here), went to a mountain bike at the age of 24, that I used almost exclusivly on the road funnily enough. Then purchased a motorbike (quite a few over the years). Decided that actually I would quite like to see my 40th Birthday so promptly sold it and now I'm looking at purchasing a roadie as I still like getting out on two wheels you experience so much more not confined to a tin box.

I have however not rode a drop handlebar bike before. I have a halfords full suss heavy pogo stick that has got me back into biking but now looking to buy something that actually works. The only trouble is that I have a budget set by the wife of £200-250. The bike would be used simply for leisure time and of course fitness.

I would love to have a larger budget and know that I am not going to get a lot for that money but if anyone wants to come round and is able to convince my wife to increase the purse strings then you are a better man than me ! therefore the budget has to stand

So after all the waffle I have two questions

What can I get for my money. Being new I do not really know what I am looking for and I am a bit wary buying something second hand privately that would not suit my needs.

Also as my mates are all either still on their motorbikes or playing golf I would be cycling on my own which is pretty bad for motivation. Would joining a local cycle club benefit? I am based in Rayleigh near southend on sea.

If anyone has any tips/help on bike buying for my budget or recommendations for a cycle club near my area I would very much like to hear from you.
Thanks
FB

dg74

At that budget I'd keep an eye out on the classifieds section on here as you can sometimes pick up a complete bargain.

If you're in a hurry though, maybe (and I could get shouted down here) the Carerra (sp?) models that are on Ebay could be a good bet.

jeepie

Hi mate,

Welcome. I think your best bet on that money is to get a really nice bike but second hand rather than getting a new bike.

Lurk on eBay and go for something like this - yummm

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Bianchi-Nirone-7- ... otohosting

Cheers
J

fatbloke8

DG 74 you won't have me shouting you down thank you for your input a bit of internet searching has thrown up the following what do you or anyone else think of the following a good entry level bike or should I avoid like the plague?

In no particular order:
Claude Butler Criterium - £244
Rayleigh Airlite 100 - £ 220
Viking Roma - $260 Giro D'italia - £ 224.99
Mercurio Alloy £ 200
Dawes Giro 200 £ 240 this one looked particularly good

Thanks
Jason

Infamous

None of those have STI, and they all have shifters on the downtube apart from the Claude Butler Criterium. So I'd get that one out of them.

Better off 2nd hand imo.

STEFANOS4784

The raleigh has 14 speed sora. Get that, or as i suggested in another thread make that bloke in the classifieds an offer much better bike for buck :roll:

Crapaud

fatbloke8 wrote:

... I have however not rode a drop handlebar bike before. I have a halfords full suss heavy pogo stick that has got me back into biking but now looking to buy something that actually works. The only trouble is that I have a budget set by the wife of £200-250. The bike would be used simply for leisure time and of course fitness. ...

like the description,fatbloke8. The expression 'full bounce' also makes me laugh; I'm easily amused.

Welcome to the forums, fatbloke8. Like the rest of the posts I'd go second-hand. I'd be inclined to look for a bike with good frame and forks (and maybe hubs) and upgrade the rest over time. Being second-hand, replacement parts'll be mysteriously unavailable due to age. This'll give you the,"That's what happens when you buy cheap.", line of argument when the squawking starts.

Tony666

I returned to cycling a few years back after getting a bike free on my local freecycle network - a Raleigh. I started to out grow it and found it to heavy, not geared right and so on. So, like others have suggested, I bought a second-hand bike on eBay - a Claude Butler San Remo. I too was on a tight budget. I got the bike for £160 which I think was a bargain as the new price was around the £400 mark and so I had £40 left for a bike computer. But being the untrusting sort of person I was I worried my silly between paying for the bike and then going to collect it. I needn't have worried as the bike was, and still is, wonderful. I have since upgraded but still use the CB when the weather is bad. Hope you hit lucky.

fatbloke8

Thanks for the advice guys, I think I am going to wait and do a bit of further research (i.e. get a better second hand one rather than new) so long as my impatience does not get better of me.

Anyone wanna swap a decent roadie for a fullly kitted out windsurfer (not the old long board style this was bought new in late 2007)

simple_salmon

Might be worth finding out if your place of work (if you have one) takes part in the salary sacrifice (tax-free) scheme for cycle purchases. This might allow you to increase your budget by a) saving the tax and NI and b) being able to pay monthly.